Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian Woman's Rights in Their Own Country - Essay Example

Kuwaiti and Saudi Women Rights in their Own Country Introduction Both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are countries predominantly occupied with Muslims. They uphold the principle of Islamic teachings as a guide to the political, social, and economic spheres. In this regard, the Islamic culture strongly influences what one can do and to what extent, in this reference, the teachings of the Islamic culture are infringed to some extent the right of the woman in the Islam predominant countries (Worden 42). In as much as this has been the precedent created by most of the Islamic territories, there are other countries that have transcends the tyranny of the Islamic teachings in this regard and have granted their citizens the freedom to engage in activities that once they were prohibited. In the Islamic culture, it is true to urge that their constitution especially on the chapters that relates to the fundamental rights and freedom of individual is curtailed by the Islamic teachings. The teachings are given priority before any other law of the land. Following this system, it has been noticed that most of the women in the world who are in bondage of not being able to engage activities perceived to be normal are the Muslim women. While other have transcends the prohibitive laws that curtails o the women’s rights, some of them still pursue the teaching and guidelines to the letter and strongly opposes any attempt to subvert these laws (Worden 57). This research paper gives a comprehensive account of the women’s rights in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia by citing the position of women in the two societies. Discussion Women’s Rights in Kuwait In the Gulf region, the Kuwaiti women cuts themselves a niche as the most emancipated in a region where women rights highly enshrined than the neighboring Islamic countries. Because of the Islamic teachings and culture, most of the women in the Islamic countries are barred from engaging in most of the activities that in most countries will be taken normal and are not contradicting any law; written or unwritten in this regard, Women in Kuwait enjoys the following rights; Right to Drive In most of the Islamic countries, women are not allowed to drive; this is for the sole reason that they are not supposed to be bare faced- they are expected to cover the parts of their body that are awrah (meant not to be seen) (Alsarraf 56). Following this situation, only the hand and the eyes are not considered awrah and are supposed to be concealed to the public. This has made the women who profess Islamic culture to avoid driving since with the cloak cloath called abaya and the face-veil, niqab it is impossible to engage in driving (Sabbagh 73) . Kuwait though have rescinded over this law and have let their women drive just like any other person without the discrimination of gender. It will be noted that most of the Islamic countries are hinged on patriarchal and men are the central authority in everything and are given first priority. Right to Vote Whereas in other Islamic countries there are strict regulation on the right of the women to vote in the elections, women in Kuwait enjoys the right to vote following the repeal of the sections that barred women from such constitutional rights. Following the 2005 amendments, Kuwaiti women have the rights to equally vie for the elective position; parliamentary and local elections. Following the precedent set by the 2005 ruling, in 2009 the Kuwait’s constitutional court also ruled that the women, just like men could possess passport without the approval of their husbands (Sabbagh 95). Initially, women were not allowed to get hold of the passport without the approval of their husbands, even the movement of the women was restricted to their approval or their fathers. Right to hold Senior Government Positions Kuwait has also allowed and consented on their women to hold on the high-ranking government positions, this is unique to them because most of the countries in the Gulf region practice discriminatory tendencies by being bias against the women. Again, in 2005, The Kuwaiti Emir (ruler) broke with the past by making appointments that saw women being in charge of top government position that had not been the norm in the country (Rizzo 61). Women for the first time were appointed in the ministry of Planning, and that of State and Administrative Development (Sabah 91). In a reshuffle that followed this appointment, his highness of Kuwait in a bid to raise the stake of the women on political matters appointed additional three women as ministers. In addition to this, the 2009 parliamentary election constituted four women elected as members of the parliament. This development confirms that Kuwait’s women have been given the freedom and the constitutional rights, socially, economically and politically (Katulis 87). Equal Job Opportunities Gender parity in the job sector was also witnessed in Kuwait but following the Affirmative action that was taken to ensure equality with men, women in Kuwait have been granted equal opportunities for employment just as it is for their male counterparts. In Kuwait, the women have the right to be employed in all sorts of jobs, which includes; immigration officers, police officers, royal guards as well as the Special Forces officers. The Service Bureau of employment in Kuwait recognizes women for any employments position just as it does for men (Sabah 111). The only challenge facing the women of Kuwait in terms of discrimination is in the legal and societal matters. Family courts that are presided by the religious leaders tend to be bias against the women by making men more superior that fellow women in more than one aspect, this includes the testimony of one man is considered as that of two women. In reference to the civil, administrative and in the criminal courts, the discriminatory is not practiced and consideration is leveled for everybody. Inheritance laws in Kuwait also tend to tilt on the males sides and only without the presence of the male that the female can inherit. Transmission of women citizenship to the foreign husbands is also prohibited (Rizzo 66). Women Rights in Saudi Arabia The circumstances regarding women status in Saudi Arabia is quite different with that in Kuwait, as in Saudi, women rights are determined by Islam and customs laws. Women face all sorts of repressive laws in Saudi and are literally barred from doing most of the things that are open for their fellows in Kuwait despite all coming from countries with deep Islamic background. Unlike Kuwait, Saudi have always remained adamant to review the laws for the liberation of the women and in so doing, discrimination is at its peak in Saudi (Kelly, and Breslin 113). In what can be construed to be casting of doubt on the ability of the women to take self-care, in Saudi, women are assigned male guard irrespective of their age in the society. Saudi thus remain one such country with patriarchal tendency were men are supreme over every thing. Right to Vote In Saudi Currently, women are much disenfranchised and are not able to take part in any election either as a voter or as a contestant. It is only recently that King Abdullah made the declaration that women will be allowed to take part in the elections both as voters and as contestants in the coming 2015 elections. Up to today, the women of the Saudi Arabia have been denied their constitutional right of choosing leaders they wish to govern them this is to stay until the 2015 election. It is only after the elections that the women will be qualified to be elected in the consultative Assembly (Kelly, and Breslin 124). By 2011, there was no woman ever elected for parliamentary seat in Saudi Arabia since women engagement in politics is highly restricted. Driving Restrictions It is surprising that Saudi Arabia is the lone nation in the entire world that forbids women from driving. This is because of the nature of the clothes that are prescribed for the women, it is impossible for the women to drive because they will be obliged to contravene the requirements of the laws that require only their hands and the eyes to be left uncovered. This restriction only shows how women in the Saudi are discriminated against by the patriarch system instituted in the country that guarantees men to be the key players on political, social, and economic issues at the expense of women who are regarded as weak, unable, and vulnerable members of the society that must be guided at all the time. Gender Disparity in Saudi Arabia According to the countries ranking in accordance with the level of gender equality in the world carried out by the World Economic Forum 2009, Saudi is placed at position 130 of the 134 countries that were considered in the parity ranking. This is an extremely law ranking given the status of the societies today. In terms of political empowerment, the Saudi women status scored zero given the kind of restriction they face in the political scenes. In terms of the labour force, about 21% of the Saudi women are in employees in the many categories of work available in the country (Worden, 94). Even though there is a perception that the Saudi women are in oppressive regime, most of them are contented with the situation they are in given that most people fail to understand the Saudi society and are simply compelling them to follow the Western lifestyle without taking into account their beliefs and customs. One of the renowned journalists Maha Akeel shares the same sentiments that the Western countries are in criticism of what they have no idea about regarding the patriarchies in Saudi and is an opponent of the system. The premise of the case here is that, they should not be compelled to go the Western way for no reason, instead they should be given a chance to pursue their values and customs that will appreciate their rich history and role models alike, they pose (Worden, 99). This is a contrary situation to what many may think; that they are under totalitarianism, no, the women of the Saudi appreciates their customs are not in any bondage even though in some country it looks oppressive and dictatorial. Conclusion and Suggestions It is true that the society influences everything in a person and that when one is born and is used to a system, they do not mind the status quo changing or remaining the same. This is the case with Saudi Arabia, the Islamic laws and customs have reached a critical level that breaching it is considered a grand violation of the laws instituted by the authorities that no one has thought of revisiting them. The status quo has thus remained with women facing al sorts of disparities in the society and is construed to be normal by the women. The situation in the country need to change, the leaders should have a more broader ways of looking at issues so that women just like men are given the same status in the society just like it is the case with the sister country, Kuwait. It is the responsibilities of the leaders to ensure that the country is placed on a development-oriented path in terms of how member of the society are perceived. For instance, if some of the members of the society are not allowed to hold on certain jobs how will it be possible to drive the economic facets of the country? If other are not allowed to vote or run for election and the leaders elected are accountable to them, the question a progressive leader should ask is; are we enhancing democratic space and the rule of the law at a time when those are the recipe of a nation’s prosperity. For countries like Saudi to achieve prosperity and equality in their endeavors, they must repeal all the laws that are male chauvinists in nature. This will enable the society to move forward with focused agenda in improving the citizens’ welfare without discrimination. Works Cited Alsarraf, Hani A.. Policy administration and political rights the experiences of high-level women in the Kuwaiti government. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University, 2008. Print. Katulis, Brian. Women's rights in focus Kuwait. New York: Freedom House, 2005. Print. Kelly, Sanja, and Julia Breslin. Women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa: progress amid resistance. 2010 ed. New York: Freedom House ;, 2010. Print. Rizzo, Helen Mary. Islam, democracy and the status of women: the case of Kuwait.. London: Routledge, 2005. Print. Sabah, Meshal Abdullah Al. The role of women in Kuwaiti politics from 1990-2009. London: University of London, 2011. Print. Sabbagh, Suha. Arab women: between defiance and restraint. New York: Olive Branch Press, 2006. Print. Worden, Minky. The unfinished revolution: voices from the global fight for women's rights. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012. Print. Read More